Just a Cold
by Ami DragonHeart
Summary: Mal's sick and Evie needs to help her get better...while dodging rogue magic. ONE SHOT [Ben/Mal]


Disclaimer: I do not own Disney Descendants nor the characters, just this fic.

There were very few things that truly scared Evie, she'd grown up on the Isle of the Lost after all, but this was one of those things. It wasn't just Evie who was terrified, Jay and Carlos knew to make themselves scarce the moment it happened. Bracing herself, Evie turned to face the girl she considered her sister, the only difference this time was she didn't have her mother's secret recipe to fall back on.

Mal didn't get sick, she was a Faerie who could turn into a dragon, or at least her mother could. It still meant she could regulate her temperature far better than most and yet nothing could prevent the sudden chill from being caught in the rain from defying all of her natural and magical immunities. Okay, so she did get sick it just wasn't that often. Of course being sick meant sneezing and sneezing meant…

Evie ducked just in time as a burst of flame licked the air above her curls. Apparently being sick messed with Mal's ability to control her magic which resulted in bursts of flame every time she sneezed. At least the warm, sunny day meant she could leave the windows open and not have to breathe in the slight tang of ash that came with the girl's coughing. "I'm…just going to let Fairy Godmother know you won't be in class today." The door could not close fast enough behind her. She knew someone would have to stay and nurse the sick dragon back to health or else she'd torch her way through the flame-retardant spells she'd placed over everything in their room, but if she could delay the inevitable she would.

"Evie, hi. Is Mal there?" Oh sweet little cinnamon bun that he was, Evie couldn't send him in to face the beast even if that would almost be worth the fire hazard to watch. Curious that he had the beastly heritage and yet Mal would always be far more terrifying.

Pressing herself against the door Evie tried not to appear shaken. "She's sick. Really sick. It'd be best if you just let her rest." That, and Mal would be mortified if Ben saw her in that state. The girl would be beside herself if she scorched a single hair on his body, no best if he stayed well away from their room for the time being.

Ben's concerned eyes flew to the door behind the blue-haired girl. His princess was sick, how could he just leave her like that? Well it just wasn't princely and he'd just have to make sure she was looked after. "Thank you Evie but I'd like to see her." If nothing else he could keep her forehead cool and help ease her sickness that way. Side-stepping Evie he slipped into the room to greet his girlfriend only to come racing back out a few moments later. "She sneezes fire. How does she sneeze fire?"

Cackling to herself Evie made her way to the headmistress' office, letting her know that Mal was too sick to attend class and that she would be missing school as well. Fariy Godmother had been hesitant about both girls not being in attendance but the moment Evie mentioned Mal's pyrotechnical problems permission was instantly granted. Grabbing some bottles of water and a few things for Mal to nibble she returned to her room only to find Mal wasn't the only one there.

His girlfriend sneezing fire had been a setback but he wasn't going to let it stop him comforting her. Grabbing his tourney kit he'd returned to the room, raising the shield as needed to protect himself from the blasts. The prince had also come baring entertainment. "So…Tom & Jerry or Ninja Turtles?" Ben asked, laying a cold compress on her burning forehead.

Mal managed a weak laugh, even sick she could appreciate how adorable Ben was. "Anything with 'ninja' in it is usually a good place to start." She thought Ben seeing her abnormalities would've been a deal-breaker, that he would've taken one look at her and gone running straight back to Audrey and yet he continued to surprise her. Not only did he come back, he obviously intended to stay with her for the whole day, and he'd brought his own armour to her knight with cold compresses.

Evie watched, feet rooted to the spot as Ben set up the TV far enough away from Mal so that she wouldn't torch it and lined up a marathon before joining her on the bed. "This is one of my favourites. Mum used to have to drag me away from the TV." Arm around the dragon, shield placed between them for him to raise as needed, they settled in to watch the show.

It wasn't long before Mal drifted off, Ben still attentively changing her compress as he watched the show. "You didn't have to do that." Evie muttered, sitting at the end of the bed. "I'm used to dodging flames and trying to get soup down her throat."

Her comments struck a chord with Ben, his eyes suddenly focusing on Evie's face. "You? What about her mother? Didn't she take care of Mal when she was sick?" That was what mothers did, they cared for their children, muttered soothing words and told them everything would be okay. How had Mal never experienced that.

Evie shook her head, outsiders just didn't understand. "It's not like that on the Isle. You need to be strong or someone else will knock you down. Maleficent expected Mal to be strong enough to get better on her own but one time she got really sick. She couldn't keep anything down, there was fluid in her lungs, she just wasn't getting better, so I started looking after her. All three of us did." Jay had stolen the spices from the shop, Carlos handled the compresses and Evie had helped her mother make the soups. Between them all they'd managed to make Mal better but every time she fell sick it made Evie worry that it would happen again.

"Four." Ben replied softly, his fingers combing Mal's purple locks. "There's four of us to look after her now, and I'm sure a whole lot more would help if we asked." It was true, Lonnie, Jane, Doug, even the Fairy Godmother and his parents would do everything they could to make sure Mal recovered. If it ever got that bad of course, this was just a small cold.

Evie smiled, he was right, it was more than just their group of friends now, they had others to help them. The pair amused themselves with TV and card games before finally falling asleep, both of them curled protectively around Mal. No matter what the future had in store, they'd meet it together.

The morning sun hit Mal's eyes causing her to stir. Blinking the girl stared up at two concerned faces. "How are you feeling?" Evie asked while Ben's hand moved to check her temperature.

"Like two elephants slept on me." Mal teased, brushing their hands away. "I'm fine. Better. I guess I just needed rest." Ben and Evie exchanged bright grins, she was better and that was all that mattered to them. "Now are you just gonna sit on me or am I allowed to have breakfast because there is a short stack of pancakes in the dining hall with my name written all over it."

-May your thoughts and creativity flow,

Lady Ami DragonHeart


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